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In 2020, the pandemic forced the entire world to go under lockdown, where thousands of people a day were getting infected with COVID-19. It was sometime around February when my school decided that students should stay at home for the remainder of the school year, leaving my other classmates and me with really nothing to do. With so much time on my hands, I needed to find a new passion, a goal for me to work towards. I scrolled through Instagram and Tiktok, trying to find inspiration and looking to see how other people were adjusting to pandemic life until I came across a horrific news story: "Asian man is victim in latest coronavirus-fueled hate crime".
Prior to the pandemic, I was never aware of what it meant to be an Asian American. Upon reading this article, I began to realize my place in the United States. I saw people in my school on social media calling COVID-19 the "China virus"; I was insulted by two white adults as I casually walked by them in the city, when they said to me, “That’s where the virus came from”. I saw a sudden increase in news stories of Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) around the United States getting assaulted and killed. Feeling like a target had been placed on my back, I began to take a greater interest in my community and wanted to help it in any way I could.
Smithsonian's Vaccines & Us Art Competition
As I was looking up news about COVID-19, I came across an article about the Smithsonian Vaccines & Us national campaign, where the mission was to educate people about COVID-19 vaccines and squash any fear associated with them. They would allow artists of any age to submit their art pieces, and in the end, would choose ten contestants to be winners. As I deeply resonated with the campaign's message, I entered the competition and began drafting my submission piece.
I didn't want to make my art piece too complicated, filled with hidden meanings and complex symbolisms, as I believed that it would muddle the campaign's true message. So I went with something simple. A clear, strong statement. Still hurt by the stories of AAPI people getting assaulted, I wanted to symbolize unity. Still saddened by the stories of loved ones being lost, I wanted to symbolize heart. Empowered by the efforts people have made to combat anti-Asian hate, I wanted to symbolize strength. I also wanted to make a version of my art piece in Mandarin to make sure Chinese people who couldn't read English well would not be excluded from the message of my art piece.
After working on my art piece for three weeks, I submitted it, both in English and Mandarin, and a month later, I got an email from the Smithsonian telling me that I placed among the top ten winners nationally! I later found out that I was the only contestant who won and was under the age of 18. The joy, excitement, and pride I felt that day were indescribable, as I felt that I had contributed, even a little, to the AAPI community.
Link to the posters: https://www.si.edu/vaccinesandus/posters
REMEMBER. RECORD. RESPECT. Anti-Asian-Hate Campaign
In early 2021, I was interested in what my father, who at the time worked for the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), was doing in the Museum since the pandemic started. He told me he and a bunch of coworkers started on a lot of projects, most recently, an anti-Asian hate campaign called "RECORD. REMEMBER. RESPECT", aimed to encourage Asian American Pacific Islanders to report hate crimes, share their stories and create art to combat anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he told me about issues he had with the campaign logo's initial design, saying the color palette didn't look right, the composition felt off, and it didn't feel unique enough. Seeing the opportunity, I offered to redesign the logo, to which my father gladly accepted.
First, I fixed the color palette, changing it from gold and yellow to brown and yellow, matching the colors of MOCA's logo. Next, I changed the order in which the words were, switching it from "RECORD. REMEMBER. RESPECT." to "REMEMBER. RECORD. RESPECT." as it rolled off the tongue better. Lastly, the most important part was designing the writing hand. The campaign's message was supposed to empower and encourage Asian American Pacific Islanders to combat anti-Asian hate, and as a designer, I wanted to do the campaign its justice. Looking for ideas, I turned toward the last word of the campaign: Respect. To respect is to accept. To respect is to love. To respect is to be open-minded. I thought of every word pertaining to the idea of respect and then constructed a symbol of unity using those words: a handshake. At that moment, I came to my own realization that the campaign wasn't limited to solely combatting anti-Asian hate; It was to stop all hatred and bring everyone, no matter what race, together.
(OLD DESIGN)
The redesigned campaign logo is officially being used by the Museum of Chinese in America and is even featured in renowned designer Maya Lin's mockup for MOCA's new headquarters.
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